Bradstreet poetry was considered "plain style." She offered the reader a look into the private world, her world. "Upon Burning in Our House" was a simple style poem about the truth put into simple words, as were all of Bradstreet's poems. Bradstreet tells about faith in God and belongings lost in the poem. Bradstreet addressed her husband, children, God, and community in her poems. Her maternal instinct and dedication were present in her writing. In the poem, "The Author to Her Book," Bradstreet compares the poem itself to a child, her child:
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 portrays a group of men called “firemen.” Their title, however, is ironic because of what fireman usually do. Instead of putting out fires, the men in this novel deliberately set books and suspected criminal homes ablaze. Montag, the novel’s protagonist, finds “pleasure” (Bradbury 1) in his job at the beginning of the book. Further into the story, he realizes that burning books and homes destroys knowledge and is fatal to others. Montag now recognizes that depriving a generation of history, religion, and morals have desensitized his people to the point that original thoughts are nonexistent. Furthermore, cares and concerns for others have vanished, and having fun reigns supreme in society.
Growing up in the early 1600's was a tough time for many people, especially women. Women were very much discriminated against and made to fulfill the duties that were in the household and nothing else beyond that. Anne Bradstreet was a woman that grew up during this time as a Puritan. Puritans believed that humans could only achieve goodness if they worked hard, were self-disciplined, and constantly examining themselves to make sure that they were living their lives for God. Due to this way of looking at life, Anne Bradstreet had little time for writing her poetry. Being a mother of eight children and a devoted wife one would think that Bradstreet wasn't carrying out her duties to her family
In “The Author to Her Book,” Bradstreet is inundated in indecision and internal struggles over the virtues and shortfalls of her abilities and the book that she produced. As human beings we associate and sympathize with each other through similar experiences. It is difficult to sympathize with someone when you don’t know where they are coming from and don’t know what they are dealing with. Similar experiences and common bonds are what allow us to extend our sincere appreciation and understanding for another human being’s situation. In this poem an elaborate struggle between pride and shame manifests itself through an extended metaphor in which she equates her book to her own child.
In a society preserved by destruction, fire was thought to be the answer. Guy Montag, one of many firemen, participated in this so called “preservation”. Books were considered abominations. Reading provoked thought, and thought led to reality and unhappiness. The solution was to burn everything. Burn the books, burn the houses, burn the foundations of life! Guy went along with this, led his boring life, took the boring walks to and from his work, and afterwards came home to his boring wife Mildred. She, like many others, was consumed by her television “families”. All was thought to be well until one day he stumbled across Clarisse, a curious girl in his incurious world. She awakened his mind and senses. Changed by her, he works to preserve
women are still fighting for equality every day. In the time of Anne Bradstreet, women had few
“Barn Burning” first appeared in print in Harper’s Magazine in 1939 (Pinion). It is a short story by William Faulkner which depicts a young boy in crisis as he comes to realize the truth about his father’s pyromania. Faulkner takes the reader inside the boy’s life as he struggles to remain loyal to his unstable father. In the end the boy’s courage and sense of justice wins and he not only walks away from his father’s iron clad control over his life, but he is able to warn his father’s next victim. To understand how this boy could make such a courageous, difficult decision we must review the important events in the story and the effect they have on him.
The short story,”Barn Burning”written by William Faulkner is about a 10 year old boy named Sarty, who gets called to the stand of the court; his father, Abner Snopes, is accused of burning a barn down. Sarty knows that his father is guilty of arson and wants justice to be served, but, his father wants him to stay loyal to his family and blood. The conflict of morals vs. family goes on for the entire story,Sarty’s moral beliefs are embedded in justice and peace, while his father wants him to protect his family no matter the circumstances. Literary devices used in the story are symbolism and diction, the symbols of blood and fire being, family and a chain.and being told from the perspective of a timid ten year old boy. One of the major themes present throughout the story is courage, wanting to tell on his father for arson but, being shot down by his intimidating father. William Faulkner illustrates the theme of courage through the use of symbolism and diction
Contradicting viewpoints occur wherever there is room for opinions, making it immensely important to acknowledge both sides of the given topic. In the book, Guy Montag, the main character, is portrayed as a hero because of his understanding regarding both sides of the argument. A specific opinionated topic related to the symbolization of fire is brought in light. Formerly, Montag believed that fire could only be destructive. Succeeding this thought, Montag was enlightened. Montag expresses, “It was not burning, it was warming. He saw many hands held to its warmth, hands without arms, hidden in darkness...He hadn’t known fire could look this way. He had never thought in his life that it could give as well as take. Even its smell was different” (Bradbury 139). Ray Bradbury includes this piece or revelation to convey the idea that heroes, including Montag, are successful because they have the ability to find both sides of an argument and acknowledge it. On the contrary, Bradbury uses the character Beatty, to show the consequences of blinding one’s self to the other side. Beatty believes, “What is there about fire that is so lovely?...It is a real beauty that destroys responsibility and consequences. A problem gets too burdensome, then into the furnace with it” (Bradbury 109). Beatty believes that fire symbolizes destruction and solutions come from this. Throughout the book, Beatty himself symbolizes destruction. Bradbury displays this idea, showing how Beatty’s opinions tend to lean towards
Throughout the novel, Montag tries to bring realization to the people around him and waits for the day that the civilization experiences a rebirth. This corresponds to the symbol of fire. It mirrors the transformation of Montag's choices from killing his boss to burning his house down. The fire was the solution to set Montag free from the bondage of his culture, and without it, a change would not have ensued (1). Once Montag escapes from the city, he discovers a group of men sitting around a fire. It is in this scene that the fire portrays comfort. The metamorphosis that occurs in Montag is symbolized by the fire due to the fact that he is surrounded by a group of men who share his same beliefs. The comfort Montag feels in the fire is similar to the way God is a constant comfort in a Christian's life. In John 14:16, it says "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever" (NIV). God sets the rules for his people, but He will never leave their side and will always love them unconditionally. A critical altercation becomes obvious when Montag views the fire for the first time in his life as
It’s no wonder that “[t]he hurricane scene in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a famous one and [that] other writers have used it in an effort to signify on Hurston” (Mills, “Hurston”). The final, climactic portion of this scene acts as the central metaphor of the novel and illustrates the pivotal interactions that Janie, the protagonist, has with her Nanny and each of her three husbands. In each relationship, Janie tries to “’go tuh God, and…find out about livin’ fuh [herself]’” (192). She does this by approaching each surrogate parental figure as one would go to God, the Father; she offers her faith and obedience to them and receives their definitions of
Being a fireman, Montag has never felt guilty about his work when victims scream or cry but this woman had not screamed nor cried. In fact, she was eerily quiet as these men stormed her house and prepared her precious books to be burned to ash. Montag tries to ease his troubled mind by convincing himself that he’s only hurting books, mindless, emotionless objects, he’s not hurting people. However, this woman’s silence feels more accusing than the screaming and
The function of religion plays a significant role in the narrative, especially the dissimilarities between the narrator's religious beliefs and the "Other" religion of her captors. More specifically the Puritan ideology of the
Anna Bradstreet grows up in a healthy family. She was the daughter of Thomas Dudley who is the manager of the country estate of the Puritan Earl of Lincoln. Anna Bradstreet got married at the age of 16 to the young Simon Bradstreet who was working with Anna father. Anna Bradstreet never went to school but her father always taught her and gave her an education. It that time many women didn’t have an education. Anna considers one of the best and most important American poets. When Bradstreet was a little girl, she writes poems to honor and please her father. After she got married, she kept writing and it marriage didn’t stop her. Her brother in law, John Woodbridge, pastor of the Andover Church, brought with him to London a manuscripts collection of her poetry in 1650. It was her first book, The Tenth Muse was the first published volume of poems written by an American resident and it was widely read. Anne Bradstreet was a very religious and Godly woman. Anne Bradstreet always tried to live life in a perfect way. Anne Bradstreet was a woman of God and she always wrote about her faith in her poetry. She always talked about the Puritan and their believes and views on salvation and reclamation in her poetry. Anna seems to believe that God has punished her through her sicknesses. The Puritans believed suffering was God’s plan of preparing the soul and heart for accepting his mercy
Anne Bradstreet was not only the first English-speaking, North American poet, but she was also the first American, woman poet to have her works published. In 1650, without her knowledge, Bradstreet’s brother-in-law had many of her poems published in a collection called The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up In America. Although these poems did not reflect what would be her best work, they did emulate what would be the greatest influence on all of her writing. Anne Bradstreet’s Puritan life was the strongest, and the most obvious influence on her work. Whether it was her reason for writing, how she wrote, or what she wrote about, Bradstreet’s poems would reflect the influence of Puritan life and doctrine.